The eLearning White Space

Interesting post on the idea of white space in eLearning. Essentially, a period of time for the learner to reflect on what they've learned. This is not a new concept, and something that is valuable for any time of learning (face-to-face, self-study, etc). Do you provide your students with white space?

If you are familiar with principles of graphic design you know that white space, also known as negative space, is an important part of layout. It refers to the blank areas between the pictures and type on the screen or page.
In his book Design Elements, Timothy Samara states, ‘Space calls attention to content, separates it from unrelated content around it, and gives the eyes a resting place.’

The eLearning White Space

Learning has its own version of white space. It refers to the space instructional designers can give learners during instruction; the mental pause; the purposeful omission; the resting place that provides the time and space to use natural cognitive strategies to absorb things. This can be difficult to provide in an eLearning environment. We don’t typically think of eLearning as a place to linger. It’s not often that you hear someone say, ‘I think I’ll light some candles, make a cup of chamomile tea, and chill with an eLearning course.’